The Japanese Invade China Again!

Published on various sites, December 2010



A JMMA event in China! Who would have thought!!!

The last time Japanese warriors crossed the Pacific and visited their western neighbours, they raped, pillaged and slaughtered for eight years, before events elsewhere in WWII dictated that it was time to leave China – as the vanquished. Now, the Deep boys are crossing the Pacific in peace to visit a Chinese province, where they will hold their event “Mayhem in Macau” on Saturday 8th January.

This is welcome news. Japanese MMA – barring Pride – has always been notoriously xenophobic when it comes to the markets they aim to serve. Even Pride was not broadcast in Great Britain, Ireland nor many other major European countries and potential lucrative markets. And to this day, many Japanese orgs seem to have little interest in promoting their brand outside of the Land of the Rising Sun.

And now with FEG reportedly in such dire financial straits that it is heavily rumoured that K-1 Dynamite will be their last event, it is absolutely imperative that other orgs step their game up. How ironic, then, that it is DEEP that takes the initiative; the same promotion criticised by some for being little more than a glorified feeder org for Dream.

God has a sense of humour…

Leading the Japanese charge into China will be the glorious DEEP Megaton division. Those men upwards of 100kg fight in this illustrious weight class, for a title only seconded by the magnificent Super Hulk. Of the Megaton taking a brief holiday across the East China Sea, first and foremost will be the champ, Yasuke Kawaguchi, who will defend the Megaton belt against hulking Kazuhisa Tazawa. No other fights have been officially announced as yet, though touted BJJ competitor Marcos Souza will make his MMA debut at the event. Other participants are rumoured to be Welterweight champ Yuya Shirai, Ryuta Sakurai, and Luiz Andrade.

Art of War are seemingly on hiatus, so there must be a clear market in the world’s most populous country and of course the largest economy. DEEP are stepping their game up; let us hope that more Japanese promotions can do the same.

Random Fletch pre-Christmas Musings....

Published December 22nd, 2010



Weird week. Lots of rumours, rumblings, movings and shakings within the MMA world.
Mousasi vs Kyotaro booked for K-1 Dynamite. If you’re wondering why this may be strange, consider that a year ago Mousasi was an MMA middleweight, that Kyotaro is the K-1 Heavyweight champion, and that this fight will be contested under K-1 rules.

Mental. FEG strike again, playing on the fearlessness of their talent to book stupid matches. I’m not saying Mousasi has absolutely no chance whatsoever, but the cards are stacked, and a particularly vicious KO could perhaps make a dent in the career of one of MMA’s most promising “rising stars” under the age of 25 – that is, if the veteran can even still be labelled a ‘rising’ star!

In anticipation of what I deem to be the TRUE Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix final, I watched both champ Sandro against challenger and Shooto champ Hioki, in their fights against the newly departed Omigawa. Halfway through the Hioki fight, I turned off the video, and struggled to avoid putting my screen through with my clenched, shaking fists. One thing the excercise did for me, however, is convince me that the Soul of Fight meeting between the Brazzo champ and the Japanese challenger will be contested between the very best  in Japan. These two are the creme de la creme, for sure.

UFC will host a 2011 event in Brazil. Clearly, with three Brazilian champions, they have the potential to stack a card and give us long-suffering fans a Pride-esque showing. Booking title defences for Aldo, Anderson and Shogun would top UFC 100 in terms of heavy, unwatered quality… but then again, Zuffa will likely book one of those men, and water the rest of the card down in order to promote another numbered event within three weeks. Money talks, and Zuffa are talkative. Stacked cards are Japanese only territory.

Fedor has been involved in a “will he, wont he” scenario concerning the January 29th 2011 Strikeforce card. It was loudly rumoured that Bigfoot Silva would be the man to face him, and that it would be part of the Strikeforce 8-man Heavyweight Grand Prix. As M-1 are currently negotiating, renegotiating and re-renegotiating, it is as yet unclear (there are many conflicting reports) if Fedor will actually face Silva, and if the bout would be part of the tournament if so.

Fingers crossed. Like it or not (personally, I like M-1 as an organisation) the protracted contract negotiations will undoubtedly stick in the memory once Fedor retires. This kind of thing gives the new breed of zuffa zombie MMA fan fuel to the fire that Fedor is such blasphemous things as “overrated”, “overhyped” and “not the greatest”.

Let us hope that – tournament apart – he fights soon, fights hard, and increases his activity. One fight a year these days just doesn’t cut it anymore.

As for the Strikeforce HWGP, what an epic tournament that could possibly be. It will mark the first time since 2006 that the organisation with the most stacked heavyweight division would put on a tournament featuring those fighters.

The expected names to be involved will draw from this talent pool:

*Alistair Overeem
*Fabricio Werdum
*Fedor Emelianenko
*Antonio Silva
*Josh Barnett
*Sergei Kharitonov
*Shane Del Rosario
*Andrei Arlovski
*Brett Rogers

Fantastic stuff.

There are rumblings that Satoru Kitaoka could be heading to the UFC. If you are unfamiliar with this man, let me cut a long story short and say that he was the Sengoku Lightweight champ, and it took a fired up pre-Aoki arm-snap victim Mizuto Hirota to relieve him of that belt. He also stretched Paul Daley with ease back in Pancrase, putting a true catch-as-catch-can clinic on the now top 10, dangerous and feared welterweight.
I hope he stays in Japan. Kid, Omigawa and Kitaoka to UFC, all within the same fortnight? What next, Aoki, Sandro and Hioki? Terrible.

Just on the Brazil UFC card – rumours are that Royce Gracie will be tempted out of retirement to fight on it. How ridiculous – people used his shambolic UFC 60 return to claim that it “proved” that the “new breed” of MMA fighter was more advanced. What exactly did it prove? Back in the day, the only art Royce used was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he had no other fighting skills. Matt Hughes was a well rounded fighter, this is true. But had he not trained for 11 years in BJJ himself, could he have beaten Royce? Besides, Royce was in his 40′s by then, it was ludicrous. The fight proved nothing, except that Royce Gracie himself was one-dimensional, and too old at that stage to match up with a current star.

Chael Sonnen is angling for a fight with Wanderlei Silva. This much is obvious, given the twitter messages the outspoken American has been sending. This would certainly be one fight that even the usual patriotic American fans would be cheering for Wand in. Personally, I find Sonnen’s schtick amusing, but this time it reeks of desperation to stay relevant and in the news. After being submitted late in his title bout with Anderson, Chael failed a drugs test, and the hype surrounding his name noticeably cooled. Clearly, he wants to stay in the limelight as long as possible, and twitter beefs may well – sadly – be a decent way of going about it in the technology age.
Stay tuned – World Victory Road presents: Soul of Fight, and K-1 Dynamite previews to come.
Fletch

PUJI Deal Dying: Will There Be A FEGless Japan?

Published on various sites, November 2010



It is not looking good.

With the Japanese businessmen and executives so camera shy during times of trouble, one sometimes has to turn to twitter, unreliable sites and the rumour mill. And concerning the failing PUJI deal – in which the Chinese investment bank were to find FEG investors to pump money through their ailing Dream (MMA) and K-1 (muay-thai boxing derivative) promotions, there seems to be no happy ending in sight for a promoter that smart money says will not be in existence long into the New Year.

Mike Kogan is playing the semantics game. No, PUJI never intended to simply pump £200million through FEG. Yes, they were just to find investors. No, they haven’t been able to do so, as yet. Yes, Dynamite is still on Tokyo Broadcasting Systems on New Years Eve. No, FEG aren’t looking for buyers.

This is as good as a death knell. The swirling rumour mill insists that certain potential investors backed out of any cash injection after being unable to find common ground with FEG management, and that any and all suggestions of change were “resisted” by the Japanese organisation.

If Dynamite is the end, where will this leave the flagging fightsports scene in the Land of the Rising Sun?

In MMA: the only hope we realistically had was Sengoku. The orgs execs publicly released statements claiming that they “would let Dream destroy itself”, thus becoming the #1 org in JMMA by doing absolutely nothing, simply allowing their rivals to be crushed under their own weight. While that may sound promising, it is far too late.

Sengoku WERE an ambitious, young and promising org once, but since 2008 they have lost a ridiculous amount of talent; both to Dream, and to international orgs that can afford to pay higher purses. At heavyweight, they once boasted Japanese Olympic heroes Hidehiko Yoshida and Satoshi Ishii, top ranked Pride veteran and UFC champion Josh Barnett, and another UFC champ in Kevin Randleman. Beyond that, they had the talented lightweight Satoru Kitaoka as their inaugural champ, they had featherweight standout Hatsu Hioki, rising star Michihiro Omigawa, and future Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion “King” Mo Lawal. They lost the services of ALL…. and many more besides. Dream snapped up some of their best talent, and they were condemned to putting on lower key shows and belonging strictly to the B-level.
Can Sengoku enjoy a turnaround, if Dream go? Who knows. My guess is that international talent will follow the superstar alumni of PrideFC, and go to the United States of America. SRC will snap up the remaining Japanese talent, but struggle with the current Japanese economy and the apparently faded public interest in fightsports.

Beyond that, DEEP are looking to step up their game, by venturing out to China. The last time Japanese warriors fought on Chinese soil, Nanking was destroyed, and the Chinese had to move their capital to Peking (Beijing). This time, hopefully it will be the beginning of a push for prominence from DEEP, who have been in the shadows for a long, long time.
As for K-1…. therein lies the REAL tragedy of this tale. Now, as a European, I know full well that thai-boxing (I refuse to use the American term “kick” for Full Contact Karate) will never die out. It is too popular in Holland and northern Europe, too popular in East Asia, and reasonably popular in England, the UK, the Americas, so on and so forth. But K-1, an org that allowed practitioners of all striking martial arts to compete to be the best standup fighter in the world…. it transcended martial arts, dojos, belt ranks, style vs style… it has a religious cult following, and to some it is a sport of its own.
How can that be replaced?
The answer: it cannot.

It's Showtime event: featuring K-1 big guns Schilt, Hari, Manhoef, Saki, Zimmerman, Souwer & Spong

Amsterdam might be the best means of filling the unbearable void left in fightsports, if K-1 goes. Even though the city is reportedly run by criminals, and thai-boxing shows are of course predictably linked to criminal activity and shady characters, it still represents the best hope should the local scene be able to overcome these issues and transcend itself. And why not? Dutch Muay Thai is as popular as football there.

It’s Showtime is an organisation that any fan of standup fighting should know and love. Any org that hosts Semmy Schilt vs Badr Hari to decide its first World Heavyweight Champion is either going to be huge, or be a bright star that burns out fast. Better yet, unlike K-1 it has multiple weight categories, giving a chance to fighters who cannot make 155lbs for K-1 MAX but who are too small to reach the top in K-1 itself. It has a 95kg category, called 95MAX for the Light-Heavyweights. None other than Melvin Manhoef is the World 85MAX champion. There are also divisions for 77kg, 70kg, 65kg and 61kg fighters, which should make for a very, very deep talent pool. This will allow for the very best standup fighters at a variety of weights to compete for this org. It’s Showtime could well be the future – and I hope they are.

This is not an optimistic piece. Believe me; if I had my way, I wouldn’t be writing it. For all their faults, FEG put on entertaining events with Dream, and Hero’s prior to that. And as for K-1, there is nothing like Dynamite. The World Grand Prix is damn hard to beat. The promotion hosts amazing fighters and fights. It will be tragic to lose it.

Pray that either PUJI somehow manage to come through, or that FEG can sell to someone interested in keeping K-1 – at the least – going. If not, we’re praying for the resurgence of Sengoku, Deep and Pancrase on one hand, and the emergence of It’s Showtime on the other. I know what I’d prefer.

K-1 MAX Controversy: Was Petrosyan a Worthy Winner?

Published on various sites, November 10th 2010


Oops, he did it again. He played with our hearts, and smashed faces in.
Giorgio Petrosyan won his second consecutive K-1 MAX Grand Prix today, but it was far from imperious form that he did it in, by his usual godly standards. While the Italian/Armenian added another illustrious title to his incredible career resume, one can’t help wondering if this one was fully deserved. While the arguable p4p king of standup fighting earned three successive unanimous decisions, elements of the hardcore fanbase of K-1 have already let their feelings be known that only after a questionable decision win over Mike Zambidis that he scraped through the semi-final with, did he outpoint Yoshihiro Sato to claim the strap.

Now, Petrosyan is proven quality; not least being the reigning K-1 MAX GP champ. He is the goods, the pinnacle of the game, and his victory over Andy Souwer and pre-prime draw with the fearsome Buakaw Por.Pramuk illustrate that, along with his now 66-1-2 record, the sole defeat of which came at the hands of Nonthanan Por.Pramuk, when Petrosyan was 21. But in this particular tournament, a case can be and is being made that he should have bowed out at the semi-final stage.

Personally, I was not privileged to watch the entire first round of the semi-final in question, as the feed cut off. This is unfortunate. What I can say, is that with the rest of the fight I saw, Petrosyan at times came close to outclassing Zambidis… he is that good. But the second round that Zambidis put together, including what could very well be construed as a knockdown, must have been a 10-8 stanza; and thus enough to warrant the decision win after the ten minutes. As it was, Petrosyan gained the ascendancy in the extra-time period, and won what was thus a comfortable decision.

But regardless, perhaps fanboyism is rearing its head. Petrosyan is the absolute creme de la creme of fightsports right now, and he has the K-1 MAX Grand Prix titles to substantiate that claim. But with such men, decisions that leave room for doubt are already going to be subjected to more scrutiny.

This was a fantastic appetiser. Roll on December, and the World Grand Prix.

Fletch

Shinya Aoki, Lightweight Greatness and The Deepest Recent Resume In The Sport

Published by Daniel Fletcher on www.lowkick.com - http://www.lowkick.com/Dream/Fletch-Blog-Shinya-Aoki-Lightweight-Greatness-and-The-Deepest-Recent-Resume-In-The-Sport-9857

Fletch Blog: Shinya Aoki, Lightweight Rankings and the Habit of Overlooking Asian Greatness


Hello… hello… it’s good to be back, it’s good to be back! So sang Liam Gallagher in his dulcet tones, back in the heady days of 1995; the year when his band were the biggest around, and the year in which Ken Shamrock ruled the roost in the UFC. And so sing I, returning in written form to destroy the pitiful logic of some more feeble-minded simpletons, who parrot the USA-centric propaganda propagated by the larger Mixed Martial Arts promotions in North America. I mean one in particular, but I’m sure I don’t have to name them. I’d only put “Axis” somewhere in the title, and have it justifiably edited out later on. But you know who I mean.

As with my first piece of prose on LowKick, straight from the annals of http://mmafletch.blogspot.com, this second piece strives to correct the opinions of the misinformed, and it is centred on another MMA legend, who also honed his craft under the glare of the Rising Sun. In this case, it is because this particular fighting champion happens to originate from Japan itself… the man who I feel strongly is the #1 lightweight in the world… The Tobikan Judan, Shinya Aoki.


All rise, for the Rainbow Panted one. I’ll warn you now, kids; plenty of people across the forums have heaped hatred on this man in the most vitriolic way imaginable – he ALWAYS shoves it back down their throats. And this article will explain why.

Pull up a ringside seat, settle down, remove your grubby little hands from below your beltline, and place your hands on your knees like a gentleman. This topic is deserving of your utmost respect – I am here to discuss GREATNESS.

First of all, in order to drum the point home, let me preface my examination of Aoki’s legacy by making what clueless idiots may consider to be a bold statement, and what true fans will likely agree with. And it is as follows.

Shinya Aoki has the deepest resume over the last half decade, in the ENTIRE sport of MMA. Not just at lightweight… in the sport.

Those who adhere to the Zuffa LLC way of thinking may scoff, heap scorn upon this article and ooze slime in my general direction. But they are mistaken. They will say, “what about Anderson, he is undefeated in that same time frame, and has been the UFC middleweight champion…” I’m pleased for him. They may say, “oh what about the fortunes of… insert a fighters name who has grown popular under the UFC/Zuffa banner since early 2006. But away from the spotlight of the American propaganda, but under the glare of the Rising Sun, a man has forged a resume that is impossible to deny… and it sickens me when people do just that. It proves the ineffectiveness of the current coverage of the sport, the failures of its journalists and the effectiveness of the hype machine that pumps out its Dr Josef material from the heart of California and Nevada.

Imagine signing up to the forums at sherdog, the UG or mmalinker, and suggesting (as I have) that Aoki Shinya could possibly have a chance to defeat one Mr Baby Jay Penn. Try it – even after the two losses to Edgar, you will be scorned. You will be laughed off the forum. Laughed off, for suggesting that the man with the sport's deepest resume since prime Fedor has a chance to beat a fighter whose legacy is in the custody of the Zuffa hype machine...

Is the hype machine that powerful, that people will not entertain the idea of the man who has toppled champions from nigh on ALL organisations, and beaten more top 10 talent in recent years than ANYONE, even having a chance at beating “the invincible lightweight, BJ Penn? No one gives him a one in ten chance. How sickening, that though the hype was false and BJ just lost twice to an undersized lightweight, that it simply means there is a new guy in the UFC who would “destroy Aoki.”

Insert face palm emoticon. I would bet money on Shinya defeating any fighter below welterweight in MMA, provided the fight occurred in a ring. And yes, that includes the overhyped UFC stars too. Let me explain something – the reason many of the UFC guys who would “destroy Aoki” are even IN the top 10 in the first place, is because Aoki has been knocking the former occupants of those top 10 spots out of the rankings!!!

If there is another fighter in MMA with at least 9 victories over top 10 ranked opponents since 2006, please show him to me. If there is another fighter with a 15-2 divisional record at the highest level (Pride & Dream) that includes 12 top 10 ranked opponents since 2006, then please show him to me.

The thought that Aoki could not potentially snap the limbs of these overhyped UFC superstars is laughable. Melendez neutralising his grappling in the worst performance of Aoki’s career does not mean that Aoki cannot deal with elite, top 10 ranked guys with a boxer-wrestler style – he submitted p4p and elite lightweight Eddie Alvarez in a couple of minutes. Another powerful boxer-wrestler, Mizuto Hirota, was pretty much EMBARRASSED by Aoki, who snapped his arm with what is colloquially known as a “copper lock” (used by policemen) and then added insult to injury by showing him the middle finger salute whilst doing the Gremlin dance. JZ Cavalcante was Hero*s champion, p4p list member and no slouch himself – Aoki soundly decisioned him. And as for Shaolin Ribiero – ANOTHER top ranked lightweight, the master grappler Aoki even put on a striking clinic!

Yet Aoki has “no chance” against Frankie Edgar, Kenny Florian, BJ Penn? These guys “all destroy him in one round?”






















Am I literally the only forum poster in the online MMA community with any damn sense anymore? Aoki has the potential to show up and look sloppy if his takedowns are stuffed in a wide cage a la the Gil fight… he also has the potential to embarrass elite opponents, and put them out of action with snapped limbs. Aoki can submit anyone at his weight, and don’t let the propaganda fool you… he is on a divisional tear. Here is why.

Shinya Aoki currently holds a 15-2 win/loss record at lightweight, and a 9-3 ledger at welterweight. I will examine his campaign at lightweight, to explain why this criminally underrated MONSTER of Mixed Martial Arts is quickly compiling what could well become the greatest resume at his weight division both in the sports short history, and for many, many years to come.

After going 7-2 in Shooto’s middleweight division (welterweight in the western world) Aoki began his lightweight odyssey in 2006. The pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts competition, Pride Fighting Championships snapped up the promising youngster, who despite being undersized at the weight, had won the Shooto middleweight (170lbs) championship, and gone the distance with J-MMA O.G. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai. It was a wise decision – a new star was blooded on the big stage, and Aoki won all three of his bouts in Pride. He would of course go on to become a huge star and standard-bearer for the successor of that wonderful, doomed organisation.

Aoki claimed his first big scalp outside of Shooto that year, when on October 14th 2006 he defeated George Sotiropoulos, a man who is still a top ranked fighter with only one other loss in his career. This win may seem on the surface an inauspicious start to lightweight and pound-for-pound greatness, given that it is technically a DQ loss due to the illegal foul committed by George, but still… Aoki had been handsomely outgrappling the Australian, and it was likely he was en route to a submission victory.

A triangle choke win followed some weeks later at Pride Bushido 13, before Aoki came up against another elite fighter – Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen. Now, anyone who knows MMA, in particular the Japanese scene, knows that Hellboy Hansen is a savage. This is a guy who beat prime Takanori Gomi, prime JZ Cavalcante, prime Caol Uno, prime Masakazu Imanari, prime Rumina Sato, had been the Shooto Welterweight champion, and of course was the future Dream Lightweight Grand Prix winner, and thus future Dream Lightweight champion. Hellboy is and was Japanese MMA royalty.

Aoki submitted him via gogoplata in 2:24 of round 1. It is fitting that this event was called Pride: Shockwave, because the victory by gogo over one of the most feared lightweights around sent shockwaves throughout the MMA world. The then 23-year-old Aoki had arrived on the big stage with a bang, and was by now entrenched in the elite rankings. Four years later, there is no sign of him dropping out of them.

Roll on 2007, and Aoki’s tear continued. His record for the year would be 3-0, his best win over Akira Kikuchi – a man who competed in the welterweight division, and held a win over future p4p list entrant and Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields. In the light of 2010, a win over Shields is extremely impressive, but it was a feat he could not manage with Aoki; the Tobikan Judan narrowly, but rightly earned a decision win over the dangerous Kikuchi to defend his old Shooto middleweight championship.

The death of Pride was undoubtedly responsible for the relative lack of activity for Aoki in 2007, but with the emergence of a legitimate successor org to PrideFC in Dream, the Baka Survivor more than compensated in 2008. It would be one of the deepest gauntlets that any fighter has ever run in MMA, with Aoki facing top lightweight competition in a seven-fight murderers row.

First off was former K-1 Hero*s champion JZ Cavalcante, one of MMA’s then brightest stars. Illegal strikes curtailed that first fight – a no contest – but then the rematch resulted in an entertaining grappling exchange between both men… one that Aoki emerged victorious from. This also further advanced Shinya in the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix, the next round of which he successfully navigated with another first round gogoplata win over Katsuhiko Nagata. He was nearing his goal to proving his divisional dominance, and the sub-77kg fighters must have all been looking over their shoulders nervously.

July 21st 2008 was that fateful day. Clouds gathered, blocking out the rays of the Rising Sun, and tumbleweeds gathered in the streets of Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Only in Osaka could the rumble of distant movement be heard, as the people clamoured for tickets for the hottest show in town. It was time for the object of their love and hate to claim his mantle, take his place on the throne that had awaited him since early 2006. It was Aoki’s day.

He faced one of the unluckiest men in MMA, Caol Uno. They went the distance, after a predictably grappling based struggle, and despite Uno surviving a triangle choke attempt in which he came desperately close to losing, he managed only to survive in a losing effort, as all three judged deemed Aoki the winner. The tournament final in sight, Aoki had an impending encounter with either the dangerous Japanese wrestler with KO power, Tatsuya Kawajiri, or the perennial top 10 American Eddie Alvarez.

Disaster struck. His fellow semi-final victor Alvarez was unable to continue to the final in the one-night event, and he was replaced by former Aoki victim Hellboy Hansen. A fired up Hellboy delivered perhaps the best display of a glittering career in J-MMA, as he avenged his earlier loss in style. Aoki suffered his first ever loss at lightweight, and his first loss by technical knockout. Hellboy was the Grand Prix winner, and thus the inaugural Dream Lightweight Champion.

Despite the blip, Aoki pressed on. He got back to winning ways, and secured the Super-fight that fans had been denied at the Grand Prix finals, a bout with Eddie Alvarez that the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts saw fit as to put their inaugural lightweight championship at stake in. Removing all doubts that if the Baka Survivor was not THE best lightweight in the sport, that he was still at least in the top 3, Aoki submitted the American after only 1:32 in round 1 with a heel hook. The 25-year-old had added a new belt to his growing collection, and a new name to his ever-growing collection of scalps of elite fighters.

Re-entry into the welterweight division followed, in the desire to try his luck in a second Grand Prix, and Aoki went 1-1 – defeating David Gardner in hilarious fashion after the American was foolish enough to wave at the crowd and shout “Hello Japan”, while the most dangerous Japanese submission artist had his back… and losing in a rematch to the legend, Hayato Sakurai. After this phase, Aoki was back in the saddle at lightweight. In the remainder of 2009, he would defeat FOUR top 10 ranked fighters in a row.

Aoki put on a surprise striking clinic against Vitor “Shaolin” Ribiero at Dream 10, then he got his rubber match against Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen. The Norwegian had been out of action for the previous year since winning the belt, but was still ranked, and had one of the more impressive 19-7 win/loss records that you are going to find in MMA. Aoki removed all doubts, facing him fresh without the wear and tear of a previous bout that night as he had at the Grand Prix finals, and in this third fight he won decisively – securing an armbar with only seconds left in the fight. Shinya Aoki had avenged his sole loss at lightweight, and become the Dream Lightweight Champion. His worth was proven – he was the #1 Lightweight on the planet, with a 13-1 divisional tear to his name. Like Gomi, whose identical 13-1 tear in Pride made his name and legacy, Aoki had now capped such a streak, but one that was to continue.

One thorn stuck in his side. The upstart org in Japan, Sengoku, had a top 10 ranked lightweight as its champion, a man known to all hardcores; Mizuto Hirota. A specially co-promoted show on New Years Eve 2009 may have raised the eyebrows of those concerned that one of Japan’s premier orgs must be in financial difficulties, but fight fans salivated over the prospect of a champion vs. champion bout to determine the TRUE lightweight champion in Japan. Aoki had the resume, the streak, the top 10 ranked scalps in his wins column… and Hirota claimed to have the answers; namely his powerful punches and the grappling that would supposedly neutralise Aoki’s attempts to put the fight in his realm.

It would not transpire quite that way.

Shortly into the fight, Aoki rode the apparently “much stronger man” (aren’t all his opponents meant to be stronger? Isn’t that why “all the UFC guys would destroy him”? Pfft, don’t get me started on that crap). Not only did Aoki ride his back, he did so with only one hand controlling the nonplussed Hirota. One hand waved to the crowd. Then, in a display of savagery, Aoki used the aforementioned “copper-lock” – or “hammer-lock” in puro-resu terms – and grotesquely bent Hirota’s arm in the wrong direction, until the elbow joint visibly snapped. Just to display his superiority over his hated rival, Aoki abandoned the Japanese code of Bushido and Samurai spirit, by breaking into the Goblin dance and flipping Hirota and the booing crowd off.




Regardless, the now 14-1 lightweight was untouched in the MMA world. For all the hate and empty statements thrown at him (he’d get killed in the UFC, etc) there was not one single fighter in the world who could even touch that recent resume. Aoki is to 2006-2009 what Fedor Emelianenko was to 2003-2006, what Igor Vovchanchyn was from 1995-2000, what Frank Shamrock was 1997-1999, and what Ken Shamrock was 1994-1996. Aoki is cut from that cloth.

Next up, April 2010, came the single downfall that is used to justify the way Aoki is criminally underrated. The Melendez fight.

*Never mind that Melendez was a pound-for-pound top 3 fighter in early 2007.
*Never mind that Melendez had a TREMENDOUS game plan for Aoki.
*Never mind that Melendez gave the performance of a lifetime.
*Never mind that it was Aoki’s first fight in a cage.
*Never mind that Aoki never came close to being finished.

Despite all this, the Melendez fight is the sole barometer that stupid, clueless fight fans and Zuffa Kool Aid drinkers use to discredit Aoki with. And that is WRONG.

All I’ll say is this – lets see the rematch in the Dream ring. 15 minutes is a LONG time to avoid getting submitted by Shinya Aoki in the smaller ring, as opposed to the huge cages used in USMMA.

But regardless, Aoki soldiered on and faced his sixth top 10 ranked opponent in a row, his 12th overall in a period of less than five years, and his 9th in less than three years. It would be the dangerous Tatsuya Kawajiri, a former friend of Aoki’s, and a man that fight fans had been clamouring for for years – some say, despite the Aoki/Hirota Super-fight, and the battles between Aoki and Uno, Sakurai and others, that after the post-Pride decline of Takanori Gomi, that THIS was the real fight to decide the #1 lightweight that Japan could field. Aoki vs. Kawajiri, a dream fight for all.

Fans of the Baka survivor may have been worried that his game was scouted, given the ineffectiveness against Melendez. They need not have feared. Aoki was back to his devastating best, and the fight more resembled Aoki vs. the p4p ranked Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez; Kawajiri was taken down quickly, and submitted via a vicious heel hook. Aoki was back to best.

And that is the story of Shinya Aoki’s career, from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and his two fights of 2010. An amazing odyssey, especially for such a young yet cerebral fighter. Even now, Aoki is only 27-years-old, and any true fight fan – love him or hate him – must be wondering about just how much this young fella can achieve. (OK, he is five years older than me, but still – the guy is hardly old). Already boasting one of the deepest resumes in the short history of our sport, this man shows no signs of slowing down, and is just entering the age of his athletic physical prime.

Do not believe “the truth”. Believe the record books, the list of fallen champions, and your own eyes. Tune into Dream, and watch FEG’s lightweight champion. I’m sure my work will be discredited, but in time what I have said will be viewed through the lens of history, with the benefit of retrospect. And I will be vindicated.

It is a pleasure to watch the modern great, Shinya Aoki perform. I only wish that more people actually appreciated that pleasure, instead of being so quick to look for any means of discrediting him, just because the champions he beat did not have “UFC” emblazoned across the 6oz gloves that they were unable to knock Shinya out with.

This man is the real deal, and he has the record to prove it.

2006-2010 - Shinya Aoki's Lightweight Resume:

W Jason Black
W George Sotiropoulos
W Clay French
W Joachim Hellboy Hansen
W Brian Lo Anjoe
W Bu Kyung Jung
NC JZ Cavalcante
W JZ Cavalcante
W David Gardner
W Katsuhiko Nagata
W Caol Uno
L Joachim Hellboy Hansen
W Todd Moore
W Eddie Alvarez
W David Gardner
W Vitor Shaolin Ribiero
W Joachim Hellboy Hansen
W Mizuto Hirota
L Gilbert Melendez
W Tatsuya Kawajiri


I’d like to shout out my forum pahtnah, from Noo Yowk City, Mr Anthony “Bloodstain” Lane, and everyone at our Team Takeover forum. Teamtakeover.forum-express.com… my own blog is http://mmafletch.blogspot.com

I’d like to thank all the fans, I’d like to thank allllll the peopllllllle… so many people…. and they all walk hand in hand, hand in hand through their… *****life!

(Sorry. The Liam Gallagher introduction went to my head there. He sang a variation of his rival’s song to mock him, and I just did likewise. But if fits.)

Back to Aoki and this article; the moral of this Disney fable is; don’t listen to the propaganda, kids. Don’t drink the Zuffa Kool Aid, stay in school, and leave them drugs alone! Only take lethal drugs like alcohol and tobacco that your government taxes… not the illegalised ones that they don’t.

Stay safe.

Watch the fights.

Support the fighters.

Fuck the management.

Fuck the politics.

Thank you for reading, my lovelies. This one is for the #1 Lightweight in Mixed Martial Arts.

The one who doesn’t fall, doesn’t stand up.

It’s been emotional. Black-fringe-wrist-slashing-Bullets-For-My-Valentine teenage hormones type emotional.

“He mobilised the English language and sent it into battle”. Winston Churchill knew the power of words. I hope mine can influence a few minds too. Propaganda is a terrible thing, and worse still when the ones propagating it are hardly at the level of Dr Josef Goebbels. Shinya Aoki has the deepest resume out there – recognise.

Once more, it HAS been, emotional.

Fletch